Babysitting
by Tigersaurusrex
Summary: Lin wanted some time to relax, to get accustomed to life off the police force. But when Korra is missing and team avatar is in jail, it becomes very clear that time is something she doesn't have. This is set after episode 8, "When Extremes Meet" and contains spoilers for that episode. It will develop into a Lin x Korra romance. Currently in progress.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Any comments/critiques are welcome and encouraged. I'm new to writing fanfiction so any feedback would be great. You can comment on here but I'm much more active on my Tumblr (tigersaurusex). I post my fanfiction on there as well.

Slowly, carefully, the newspaper lowered to the table. A clenched fist landed on top of it. A teacup rattled from the blow, almost toppling over and spilling its precious contents. The angry woman apologized to no one in particular, and carefully settled the cup back on its saucer. Green eyes scanned the newspaper again. Maybe she had misread.

But the headline stayed the same, and the anger rose again. "I leave those fools alone for one day." Eyes narrow, fingers tap irritably on the table. No more fists, but she does feel like punching something. "One day!" Her hand flies wildly through the air.

No longer in the mood for tea, the ex chief stands up. She curses herself for thinking that the others would be okay without her. She had wanted to relax for a couple days, to get used to life without babysitting the police force all day. She hadn't realized that the Avatar would need to be babysat as well. Then again, it's not surprising. The Avatar's punch first, think later attitude was bound to get her in trouble.

And now Lin would have to save her, yet again.

She wasted no time. She no longer had her metalbending uniform, but she knew something that would work just as well.

It had been a long time since she'd opened the wardrobe she kept it in. A layer of dust had settled upon it. Tears threatened to pool at her eyes, but now was no time for them. She held them back, and with arms that felt like lead, she put on her mother's old uniform.

It wasn't a perfect fit. It was a little loose. When she was younger, she would put the uniform on while her mother was out shopping or doing other errands. She would dream of the day she would be big enough to fill out the coat. The day her hips would fit snugly in the waistline of the pants. But it seemed her mother's boots would always be just a little too big for her.

She placed her hand on the coils of metal at her hips. She remembered the day she had proposed the uniform upgrade. It was right after she replaced her mother as chief. Moving the coils to the back of the uniform had seemed logical to her, but everyone praised her and called her a genius. She could remember perfectly the look upon Toph's face. 'That's my girl!' A gentle punch to her shoulder. Then a hug. It was a little harsh, strong and tight. But it was full of love, just like her mother. And then, whispered into her ear so only they could hear, 'I'm so proud of you. You're going to be a great chief, Lin.' She could still smell her mother's earthy scent, could feel her fingers digging into her back. Lin always wanted to say something about that, to tell her mother not to hold on so tightly.

She pulled herself from the memory. It had been a long time since she'd thought about her mother. She felt kind of guilty. A great woman like her deserves to be remembered. She silently vowed to visit her grave soon. To bring fresh flowers and maybe to talk to her a little bit. The idea of talking to a lifeless body buried in the ground had seemed silly to her at first, but it really had helped her when her mother first passed. Now it was a simple comfort.

Five minutes later, and Lin was ready to go. She had no idea where to start. Luckily it was dark out, so she wouldn't have a problem moving around the city. She would just have to be careful to stick to the shadows.  
Lin left her apartment building from the back entrance, not wanting anyone to see her. She debated walking through the alleys, but quickly scrapped that idea. There were too many street rats who would instantly recognize her. She didn't have time for any detours.

With a quick swing of her arms, the metal coils shot from their cases. Working with the ropes at her hips would take a little getting used to, but Lin had been in worse situations. The ropes latched to the top of the nearest building, and she propelled herself to the roof.

She scanned the city, but it seemed the same as always. She ran through her options, but without any leads she wasn't going to get anywhere. She didn't even know who had taken the Avatar. Most likely Amon and his chi-blocking army. As much as it pained her to admit it, she was going to have to seek a little bit of help. Her gaze slowly scanned the horizon, until they settled on the island in the distance.

If anyone had knowledge about what had happened to the Avatar, it would be Tenzin.

—-

"You're sure?"

"I spoke with the council today. He was suspiciously absent. Korra was so upset with what he's been doing recently, and her poor friends being arrested so unfairly…. she probably went to confront him." The airbender trailed off, grief in his eyes. Lin could tell he blamed himself.

"Hm." Her gaze drifted outside. A flurry of movement caught her eye. "Is that the girl's polar bear-dog out there?"

Tenzin was obviously thrown off by the question. "Yes. The police found her wandering the streets morning. The poor thing was so distraught. We had to chain and muzzle her so she would stop attacking everyone. We've tried calming her down, but she's pretty upset." Tenzin paused. He raised his arm, meaning to place it reassuringly in Lin's shoulder, but the metalbender blocked the move as if he were going to hurt her.

"Don't, Tenzin. I don't need your pity." Lin let out a small sigh and stepped towards the door. "Thank you for your help." She turned, took another step.

"Wait, Lin." He reached towards her, but dropped his hand before it got too close. "You aren't going to try and save her yourself, right?"

"Well obviously you have no plans to save her, so what choice do I have? She can't die, Tenzin. The city needs their Avatar." Before Tenzin could reply, Lin stomped out the door and slammed it shut behind her. The crash of the door against its frame was comforting to Lin. She didn't have time to waste on Tenzin. He had already told her all she needed to know. And he wasn't going to chase after her now. He knew what that slamming door meant. He had seen it before, and Lin was sure the lily livered airbender would see it again in the future.

—-

Lin slowly approached the polar bear-dog. "You're Naga, right?"

Naga growled at Lin's approach. She tried to snap at the woman, but her muzzled snout wouldn't open. She shook her head, as if the movement would knock the muzzle off.

"Shh, Naga. You're worried about the A- er… Korra, right?" The polar bear-dog stopped struggling at her master's name. She looked longingly at Lin, and whimpered a little. "You seem like a smart girl. I bet you have a great nose on you, eh?"

Naga's tail wagged at the praise. She sat down, leaning her head slowly towards Lin. The ex chief smiled, patting the creature on her head. "These fools don't know the first thing about tracking down a rebellious teen. But you and me, girl, we know everything there is to know on the matter." Lin easily used her metalbending to free Naga from her chains. The muzzle took a little bit of time since it was made of leather and had a frustratingly tight knot securing it in place, but after a bit of tender manipulation, it fell to the ground.

Naga pressed her head against Lin, and gave her a big, slobbery lick from her toes to her head.

"Oh gross." Lin couldn't help but laugh. "You're just as bad a hugger as my mother."


	2. Chapter 2

Thump thump tuh-whump. Thump thump tuh-whump. The uneven footfalls of the beast were intriguing, to say the least. The woman wondered how a terribly unbalanced creature could reach such hair raising speeds. She wondered at what point the chain of evol-

Ker-thunk. For what must have been the hundredth time, Lin slid off the saddle, landing ass first on the road. Her hands reached out to soften the fall, but they didn't help much. An angry, guttural growl rumbled in her throat. She stood up, wiped the dirt from her hands, and lifted her head to search for where the darned polar bear-dog had gone.

Naga had continued for quite a bit before realizing her passenger had fallen again. She stopped. She slowly turned, sniffing the air with her dark nose.

With an annoyed growl that mirrored Lin's almost perfectly, the polar bear-dog bounded back to the woman.

Naga pressed her head against the ex-chief's stomach, urging her to get back on.

"That's not helping, dog!" Naga let out a frustrated huff. She stomped her front paws and butted her head a little harder against Lin's midsection.

Lin stumbled back. She was in enough pain without Naga bullying her. "Relax, and try not to buck like a wild ostrich-horse this time. It's your fault I keep getting thrown off." It was a good thing Lin had thought to find Naga's saddle before leaving the island. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to ride the Avatar's pet bareback.

"Everything is going as planned, sir."

"Excellent. Tenzin will be suspicious, I'm sure. Keep him busy. Once I return with the avatar and set the plan in motion, there's not much he'll be able to do to stop it."

Korra's body tensed at his voice. The memory of the past few days came flooding back. Tarrlok punishing innocent non-benders. Her friends getting arrested for standing up to him. Her rage at them not being released. Going to confront Tarrlok herself. And then...

She didn't want to think about what happened after that. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her blood felt like ice in her veins. Her blood... It felt like it was pulsing, trying to break free. A sudden terror gripped her, and she felt the need to rip at her skin. She wanted to tear it all off, to rid herself of the blood that had betrayed her. It didn't feel right. Even though she hadn't seen Tarrlok since they arrived at the strange bunker, it still felt like he was... like he...

Korra couldn't bring herself to think the word. Her mind raced, and she struggled to move her hands to her arms so she could to something, anything to rid herself of this feeling.

But her hands were bound behind her, and the struggling did nothing but rub the binds against her wrists uncomfortably. She stopped, letting her hands fall back to the floor.

"Yes, sir. Is there anything else I can do?" Korra had almost forgotten about the voices she had heard. So she hadn't dreamt them. She had been moving between dreams and reality so much the past day, it was hard to tell one from the other.

"Check on our little guest. She should be waking up soon. Get her to eat, and see if you can get her to see reason. Tomorrow's the big day."

Oh, _shit_. He was coming for her. Frantically, the girl looked around the room. It was large, but also very empty. Her feet were bound like her legs, so running wasn't an option. She felt so helpless. She was tied up like a hog-cow, and she had no idea where she was. Even if she could escape, where would she go? How could she ever get back to the city? How far had they traveled yesterday? She had spent the first couple hours in the room screaming. No one had heard. That meant there was no one within listening distance.

Korra felt her breath catch in her throat. The floor beneath her cheek was wet all of a sudden. She lifted her head a little, and she realized she was crying. Her body shook with fear as footsteps echoed in the hall outside. There was a muffled jingling as the man tried to find the right key.

Korra bit the inside of her cheek as she heard the knob turning. The metallic taste of her own blood calmed her a little bit. It reminded her of long days of training. Of slabs of rock that she didn't dodge in time. Of miscalculating a kick and landing face-first in the dirt.

She was still shaking, but not as much. Her cheeks were still wet, but no new tears fell. She wouldn't let them. As the door opened, she closed her eyes. Partially because the light hurt them, but mostly because she didn't want to see who this man was. He wasn't Tarrlok, but he might as well have been. Anyone who willingly followed that man deserved to suffer.

"Good evening, Avatar." The voice sickened Korra. She swung her legs, sending a wave of fire in the man's direction. She heard a satisfying thud as he backed against the wall. A whimper left his lips before he caught himself. The fire hadn't hit him, but Korra knew it had startled him at least.

Korra wanted to say something, but when she tried to speak, only a cough came out. Her throat was dry and scratchy. Screaming so much yesterday hadn't helped.

"That was a little uncalled for. I came here to ask you a question, not hurt you." The man grunted and pushed himself off the wall. He thrust his hand towards Korra. From seemingly nowhere, a stream of water raced towards her. Korra tried to roll away, but the torrent struck her legs, instantly turning to ice and trapping them. She tried to kick, but her knees were frozen as well.

She rolled over. The movement gave her just enough momentum. She struck her shoulder down hard, sending a line of earth towards her captor.

The man easily side-stepped the attack. "Is that really the best you can do, little girl?" He chuckled. "Tarrlok wasn't kidding when he said you were a half-baked Avatar."

A grunt of anger escaped from Korra. She went to move again, to bend this coward into submission. Before she could even twist her head, another water-ice attack trapped her torso.

A wave of fear rolled over the girl as the man walked towards her. "No supper for you; you bad, _bad _girl."

As the last words spilled from his mouth, he twisted his hand upwards. The ice trapping Korra tightened. She gasped as pain shot through her limbs. She was fairly used to ice and cold, but not like this. It felt like a betrayal. Her own native element would be the death of her.

She struggled to keep control of herself. She wished that Aang were there. He would know what to do. She wished that the spiritual Avatar stuff wasn't so difficult for her. It seemed like being the Avatar would be a hell of a lot easier if she could consult her past lives. But Tarrlok was right about her being a shitty Avatar.

Her head fell against the floor in defeat. "What do you want from me?" Her voice was quiet, broken.

Again the ice tightened. Korra could barely breathe within its grip. "What do _I _want?" He chuckled. "I want every last one of those petty little Equalists to die like they deserve."

Korra stared at the man's boots, which were now just a couple feet away. If she weren't so damn cold, maybe she could firebend at them. She took in as deep a breath as she could with the ice pressing against her ribs. When she exhaled, nothing came out but a wisp of cooled air.

"And you, Avatar, are going to help that happen. You can either willingly help us, or we can drag you kicking and screaming. But either way, you are going to help us bring down Amon. For the greater good."

'Fuck you and your greater good,' she wanted to say. But her voice betrayed her again. What came out was more of a whimper than any combination of words.

Relief flooded through Lin as the polar bear-dog slowed down. The beast pressed her nose to the ground. Lin watched her nose twinkle in the moonlight as Naga sniffed around, trying to find the best path to follow.

They had reached a fork in the path. The two pathways seemed nearly identical. One led further into the forest they were in, and the other seemed to lead to a nearby mountain.

Just as Naga was about to start down the path to the right, something flashed in the distance. Lin whipped her head around, not sure what she had seen. It had looked like a flash of fire. Naga was looking at the same place, having seen it as well.

She turned her head to look at her passenger. A questioning whine left her throat.

"Well we both saw it. That means it was real." Lin paused for a moment, realizing that she was talking to an animal. She wondered if Naga could truly understand her, or if the polar bear-dog was just responding to her voice. "I think it would be wise for us to investigate it. It's the only lead we have at this point. It seems like you've lost the scent trail."

Naga looked back to the path with her head lowered. She sniffed a few more times, and then let out a big sigh.

Without any warning, the animal bolted down the left path, in the direction the flash had been. Lin gripped the reins, willing herself to stay in the saddle.

The ride to the site of the flash didn't take as long as Lin thought it would. That was probably because she managed to stay on the polar bear-dog the whole time.

As they got close to the base of the mountain, where they had seen the flash, it became clear they had made the right decision.

Nestled between the edge of the forest and the rise of the mountain, there was a large building. It looked like an old war base. It was surrounded by a large clearing where soldiers could practice fighting. The building itself looked fairly simple. Lin imagined the inside to be equally simple.

Naga maneuvered around the edge of the clearing as quietly as she could. The building was on the opposite side of the clearing. Luckily they could use the edge of the forest as cover, and then there was a cliff behind the building they could follow.

As they approached the building, Lin could hear a muffled voice. Once they reached the closest edge of the building, Lin eagerly hopped off Naga. She peered into the nearest window, but it was just a dark, empty room. Slowly, and careful not to make any noise, she made her way around the building, looking into empty room after empty room.

"So, Avatar, what is your choice?"

Korra kept her mouth closed. She didn't want to talk to this man anymore. Her cold muscles were aching, and her breathing was getting shallower with every breath.

The man grumbled at her silence. He grabbed her ponytail and tugged on it, forcing Korra to look up at his face. He was kneeling in front of her. His blue eyes were dark, like the deep ocean. Korra wasn't sure if they were naturally that dark or if it was a trick of the intense shadows across his face.

"Will you help us willingly, or will we have to use a more... forceful method?" He pulled harder on her hair.

Korra yelped in pain. The combination of her hair being pulled and her chest smashing against her ice prison as her head was forced back sent stabs of pain all along her body. She furrowed her brows, trying to compose herself. She had felt worse pain, she was sure. But in this moment, it didn't seem like she had.

"I will never help you." She gathered as much spit as she could in her mouth, and launched it at the man's face. It wasn't much, but it did the trick. He let go of her hair, backing up and wiping his face.

"You fucking cunt!" His boot swung forward. It landed on her stomach. Her body curled as much as it could with the blocks of ice around it. More pain shot through her.

A sudden noise caught the pair off guard. It was a loud, sharp noise. At first Korra thought the man had missed with a second kick and hit the ice instead of her body. But there was no pain, no feeling of freedom as the ice shattered. Realizing that she had closed her eyes, the girl opened them. A strange form stood across the room from the man and Korra. The moonlight spilling from the freshly broken window provided just enough light to see the form.

Just as Korra was able to focus on the figure with the dim lighting, the person dashed forwards.

Lin threw one of her hands out, bending one of the metal cables towards the man standing over the Avatar. The cable got jammed on the way out. She made the movement again, but the cable stayed in its case like a stubborn mule.

The man took advantage of her distraction. He crouched, and in a fluid motion he gathered a ball of water from one of the crates at the edge of the room. He sent two ice missiles soaring towards the woman.

Lin noticed the projectiles just in time and dropped to the ground. The ice sailed over her head. Just as Lin was about to switch to traditional earthbending, and idea passed through her mind. She gripped the broken cable case. With a mix of sheer force and metalbending, she tore the case open. She gripped the loop of metal cable inside.

Another group of ice missiles left her attacker's hands. Lin stood up, ignoring her aching muscles. Her ass was still sore from falling off Naga so much, and the rest of her hadn't fared much better from the repeated falls. She stepped to the side to evade the attack, and used the momentum to twirl around, half throwing, half bending the newly freed cable at the man.

He didn't have much time to react. The cable wrapped around his torso, trapping his arms. The man was quick thinking, however, and kicked with all his might. A wave of ice cold water hit the ex-chief, knocking her back into the wall. Her grip stayed tight on the cables, however, and the man stumbled forward and fell to the ground as the cable followed her. Before he could get back up, Lin took a couple wobbly steps forward and threw the other end of the cable at him, effectively wrapping his legs together.

The man had landed on his face, so the woman used the cable to turn him over. She wanted to look into his eyes as she confronted him. As he trembled helplessly in the grip of her metalbending, a terrible thought occurred to Lin.

"Did you touch her?" The cables tightened around him as Lin walked closer. She dropped the part of the cable she was holding, letting the full length of cable wrap around her captive.

"..What?" He was obviously caught off-guard by the question. Perhaps he truly didn't know what she meant. But that wasn't the right answer. The cables tightened again and the man made a terrible wheezing noise as the air left his lungs.

Without looking away from the man, Lin addressed Korra, "Avatar, are you okay?"

Korra wanted so badly to tell her not to call her that. Not now. Not when she was trapped, and in pain, and feeling like the worst Avatar to have ever lived. "...Yeah." The word was little more than a whisper, but Lin heard it clearly.

"Are you sure? Did he touch you? Did he hurt you? It's okay to tell me." Her words were rushed, too close together. Korra couldn't make much sense of them in her spinning head.

"I'm fine. He… He kicked me, and the ice… but… nothing else..." Korra coughed, her throat protesting speaking so much.

Nothing else. The words relieved Lin a great deal, but she didn't put much thought as to why. She loosened the cables just enough to let the man breathe. He took in a great, gasping breath and proceeded to switch between panting like a dog and coughing. He didn't seem to be in the mood for talking, and just silently suffered on the ground. That suited Lin just fine.

Lin rushed over to Korra. "We have to leave before someone comes to investigate." She placed a hand on one of the ice blocks trapping the Avatar. "Can you bend yourself out? I'm not sure if I can break these without hurting you."

Korra closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Everything was moving too fast. Less than an hour ago, she had been unconscious, lying in this very spot. Just a couple minutes ago, she thought she was going to die. And now… now Lin had saved her. Of all the people in the entire world who could have broken through that window. It didn't make sense. Lin hated her. She would have been happy to be rid of the Avatar once and for all. Right?

Lin placed a hand on Korra's shoulder. The contact surprised Korra. A shiver ran down her back that had nothing to do with the ice surrounding her. Her eyes slowly opened. "Korra. Are you sure you're okay? Did you hit your head?"

Korra wished she hadn't opened her eyes. The look that Lin was giving her brought a blush to her cheeks. Since when did Lin care if she hit her head? Since when did Lin save her? And since when did Lin call her Korra? "Uh… yeah. I mean…" She paused, trying to form the right words. "I'm fine. I think I can…" The ice had melted a little bit, just enough for Korra to wiggle within it. Her arm jerked nervously (or was it because of the cold?), and the ice around her torso shattered. The ice around her legs was no problem the break with her arms free.

Her whole body shook from the sudden heat. She hadn't realized how cold she had been. She placed one hand on the wall, and tried to pull herself up. Her legs didn't cooperate, though. She fell back down, but something caught her before she hit the ground.

"Whoa. Let me help you with that." With her arms wrapped awkwardly around the Avatar, Lin slowly helped her stand. Korra had to lean heavily on Lin to stay standing, though.

"I- Um-" Korra felt a heat rise in her cheeks again. She didn't have much time to analyze the reason behind it, however. Having cleared her head a little bit, her emotions were catching up to her. Lin was the last person she wanted to cry in front of, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. She buried her face into the older woman's shoulder, determined to not let Lin see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It's okay." Unsure what exactly to do with the sobbing mess of a person in her arms, Lin just held Korra tighter. She tried to think about what made her feel better when she was miserable, but she honestly couldn't remember ever being comforted by anyone. She always cried alone. It seemed sad to think that, but she really preferred it that way. The few times she had cried in front of others, they hadn't particularly helped the situation at all.

They stood there like that for what felt like ages, but what was more likely less than a minute. The sound of footsteps in the hall was what ended their odd embrace.

"We should go now." Lin whispered, loosening her grip on the girl.

"I'm sorry." Korra's voice was still hoarse.

"Your feelings are nothing to apologize for, Avatar."

And with that moment-ruining formality, the two ran as quietly as they could to the window, where an eager Naga waited. The polar bear-dog was so overjoyed at seeing Korra again that she almost forgot she was supposed to be quiet. Luckily, she kept her excited whines to a minimum. Lin secretly smiled at the reunion. She was almost envious of their relationship. Being apart for so long under such conditions had obviously been disheartening for the both of them.

She let the two rejoice for just a moment before she reminded Korra that time was not on their side. They climbed atop the polar bear-dog, with Korra gripping the reins and Lin sitting behind her.

"Feel free to hold on a little tighter." Korra whispered, her voice coming back a little. "This is going to be a wild ride." Korra smiled for what felt like the first time in forever as Naga dashed off towards the city, beginning the long and tiring ride back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Somewhere along the way, Korra had fallen asleep. Lin took the reins, careful not to wake the tired girl. She guided Naga the rest of the way home. After some deliberation, she decided it was probably a good idea to take the Avatar to her apartment. What the girl needed now was rest, not the barrage of questions Tenzin was bound to throw at her.

It took a bit of tricky maneuvering to get Naga through the doorways in her apartment building, especially with a sleeping Korra still on her back. It was a slow process but they managed it. Once they were safe in her apartment, Lin grabbed some spare sheets from her closet and set up a makeshift bed on the couch. When it was done, she shook the polar bear-dog's passenger lightly, careful not to let her fall as she awoke.

"Mmm?" Korra opened her eyes slowly, wiping the sleep from them as best she could. "Where… are we?"

"We're at my place. You need some sleep before you go back to Air Temple Island." Korra tried getting off Naga, and nearly fell face first on the ground. Lin caught her and helped her down.

Once she was safely on the ground, she giggled a little bit. "Cool." Her mind still half asleep, she stumbled towards Naga's head. Lin nervously followed her, unsure if Korra would be able to walk without falling over. "I love you, Naga." She whispered, taking the animal's head into her arms in a haphazard hug. Naga made a soft whimpering noise and nuzzled her head against her master. Korra let go reluctantly and turned to Lin, slowly regaining control of her muscles. "You too," she drawled sleepily, wrapping her arms around the older woman. "Thank you both."

Lin ignored the fact that Korra had just technically professed her love to the older woman, and guided her to the couch. "Here's where you'll be sleeping. I'll be in the room at the end of the hall if you need anything."

Korra bumped into the couch and fell down on it, not bothering to wrap the blankets around herself. "Kay." She kicked off her boots, and pulled her feet up on the couch. "Night, Chief." Korra closed her eyes, not even realizing her mistake.

"It's just Lin now, Avatar." She crossed her arms, glad to be back in a semi-normal situation with the girl.

"Lin. Right. I'm sorry." Her eyes shot open, and she sat up. She was visibly distressed at calling Lin by her old title.

"It's okay. Just don't do it again," Lin said.

"But if I call you Lin, you have to call me Korra." She slowly lay back down, and smiled proudly at her proposition.

"I guess that's only fair," Lin sighed lightly.

"Night Lin."

"Goodnight, Korra."

At some point in the night, Lin woke up. She tried to go back to sleep, but her brain was too busy thinking about what she was going to say to Tenzin when she brought Korra back to Air Temple Island. She had given him a call before going to bed, letting him know Korra was safe. As she suspected, he was all questions and accusations, giving her no time to actually say anything. She would have to do some serious mitigating to make sure he didn't suffocate Korra before he had a chance to cool down.

But right now wasn't the time to think about that. There was nothing she could do until tomorrow. Lin leaned over to look at her clock. 2:00. Technically later today, then.

With a sigh, Lin pulled herself from her bed. If she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well do something productive. Her mind drifted to what kind of paperwork she might have. But with a sad sigh she realized there wasn't any. Now that she was no longer chief, there might never be any ever again.

Not finding anything else to do, she wandered towards her kitchen. When she reached the living room, she found her way was blocked by a large furry rock of some kind. She reached a hand out to move it, and realized it was Naga.

That's right. She and Korra were staying the night. The polar bear-dog shifted under Lin's touch. The animal let out a whine and slowly stood up to let Lin by. Lin scratched behind Naga's ear in thanks. "Good girl," she whispered as she slipped into the kitchen. She filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. Maybe some tea would help her fall back asleep.

As she scanned her cabinets for a good tea to brew, she heard a noise at the kitchen doorway. She turned around to see a wide-eyed Naga sticking her head into the room. The polar bear-dog let out a soft whimper, sniffed the floor, and then looked back up to Lin.

Lin sighed. She was no match for those polar bear cub-puppy eyes. She didn't carry much food in her apartment. Most of her time was spent outside the place which eliminated the need to keep food there. She opened another cabinet in hopes of finding something, and was pleasantly surprised to find some dried jerky, bread, and crackers. She grabbed a couple pieces of the jerky and walked over to Naga. "Sorry I don't have anything better, but hopefully this will tide you over until you get back to Air Temple Island."

Naga swallowed the strips in one bite, licking her lips afterwards. She looked up at Lin, and the woman knew what was coming. "Oh, no. No more licking me." Lin lifted her hands defensively. The polar bear-dog lowered her ears in apology and pressed her head against the ex-chief's chest instead. Lin sighed in defeat and pressed her hand against Naga's brow. "Much better," she said softly. She rubbed her hand along Naga's head, enjoying the feel of her soft fur. The animal really wasn't that bad when she wasn't being thrown from the polar bear-dog's back.

The odd pair's embrace was cut short by a loud cry in the next room. Naga's head shot up, knocking Lin back a little bit. Lin quickly recovered, taking a defensive stance. Naga turned and bolted back into the living room, her heavy pawfalls thumping in the silence that followed the scream. Time seemed to slow down as Lin followed the Avatar's pet, picking up a spare cable from the counter (she always left a few of them around, just in case) before she left the kitchen. As the room came into view, Lin slowed a little. Everything seemed to be fine. Korra was sitting on the couch, very much unharmed. Naga was sitting in front of her, her head pressed against Korra like it had been to Lin just a minute ago. Lin slowly approached, setting the cable down on a shelf on her way.

"Av-" she caught herself before she got the whole title out. "Korra?" She paused, waiting for a response. None came.

As she got closer to the young woman on the couch, she heard soft sobbing noises. So that was why she had screamed. She must have had a bad dream. Lin hesitantly sat down on the couch. She wasn't sure if the Avatar would want Lin to see her in such a state. That fear was quickly forgotten when Korra lifted her head to look over to Lin. The look of pure desolation in Korra's eyes made Lin want to hold her tight until everything was right in her world again. It was a strange feeling, but Lin didn't take the time to explore it. She figured it was just her heroic instincts kicking in. Of course she wanted to protect the Avatar. She was the one person who could bring peace to her city once more.

In this moment though, with the two of them sitting next to each other, where Korra's eyes glimmered with the aftershocks of her nightmare and where Lin was fumbling for something to say, to do, to stop the young woman's tremors; it didn't feel very much like the person in front of her was the Avatar. She was just Korra. Korra, who was afraid for her life. Who was worried that she might let down her friends, her family. Who trusted Lin enough to cry in front of her. Korra, who wrapped her arms around the older woman and let her tears fall. Who had never felt safer than in this moment, with Lin's strong, warm arms wrapped around her. Korra, who had maybe thought about kissing the Chief of Police before. Korra, who had maybe thought about doing more than that with the Chief of Police before, whether she admitted it or not. Korra, whose inhibitions were slightly lowered in her distressed state.

No, this girl was not the Avatar right now. She was just Korra, who sniffled softly as the last of her tears escaped her eyes. She was just Korra, who closed her eyes and pressed her lips onto Lin Bei Fong's, and didn't really care what happened next because she wasn't going to die before she knew what it was like to kiss the most perfect woman in the world.

It took a moment for Lin to realize what was happening. It wasn't entirely awful, to be kissing the Avatar-well, Korra, she corrected herself. What the girl lacked in experience, she definitely made up for in passion. Korra's lips were trembling slightly, though Lin couldn't tell if it was leftover fear from the nightmare or nervousness at having actually kissed her. Either way, the woman felt an electric jolt deep in her chest from the contact. Korra placed a hand lightly on Lin's hip, seemingly encouraged by something.

Something-

That was when Lin realized that through all her analysis of what was going on, she had been kissing Korra back. Which was not the right reaction to this situation at all. She placed a stern hand on the girl's shoulder, pushing her back a little. Their lips parted, and Lin almost leaned forward again to fill the empty space now between them. Almost. "Korra." She whispered in a warning tone.

Korra opened her eyes. Slowly, so slowly, and looked at Lin. "Please." She begged. For what, though, she wasn't sure. For another kiss? Something more? Maybe just to not let this moment end. To not go back to how it was before. Maybe they couldn't be together, but Korra liked being on a first name basis with the ex-chief. She didn't want to go back to cold stares and chastising 'Avatar's.

After a moment it seemed neither of them was going to say anything more. Korra's hand was still on Lin's hip, and the older woman carefully removed it. "Korra," she began. "This can't-"

pphhhhwwwwWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~

Lin was cut short by a piercing screech from the kitchen. She had forgotten about the kettle. She stood up quickly, glad for an exit to the situation. "Would you like some tea?" She tried her best to sound formal and unshaken, but the words sounded too unsure and uneven for her taste.

Korra's heart sank. She had missed her chance. "Yeah." She leaned back on the couch, listening as Lin's footsteps faded towards the kitchen. She sat like that for a while, just staring at the ceiling, until something cold a wet pressed against her leg. She looked down to see Naga poking her knee with her nose. The polar bear-dog lifted her head and tilted it a little. Korra couldn't help but smile a little. "Don't look at me like that." A sigh escaped her lips. "I just… had to try, at least." Naga laid her head down on Korra's lap, letting out a soft whimper of understanding. Or at least that's how Korra liked to think of it. "But she just sees me as some stupid kid. I should've known."

Lin returned with two cups of tea. She handed one to Korra and sat down a respectable distance away on the couch. "Do you want to talk about it?" She offered, taking a sip of her tea.

Korra froze for a moment. Was she seriously offering to talk about what just happened? Maybe there was more hope than she thought.

"Your nightmare." Lin finished, letting the words form a pointed warning.

Oh. Korra had almost forgotten about that. "I- Well, it's nothing really… different from the nightmares I've had before." She looked down at Naga, refusing to meet Lin's gaze. Her hand grazed lazily along her companion's neck, occasionally scratching behind her ear, while her other hand lifted the teacup to her lips, taking a sip of the bitter liquid. She wasn't a huge fan of tea, but she'd learned to withstand it after years of quiet tea time before her training sessions.

"You have nightmares often?" Lin said.

"Often enough." She choked down another sip of tea to avoid answering further.

"Well what was this one specifically about? Maybe talking about it will help."

"It was- Well, we were- that is, the whole gang. You, me, Mako and Bolin, Tenzin, and Asami was there… We were fighting Amon, but he. He turned into Tarrlok, and he-" She paused a moment. She took a deep breath to try and steady her voice, "he bloodbended us to stop us, and-"

"Bloodbended?" Lin hoped that was just the result of a tired, dreaming mind. Surely, Tarrlok didn't possess that kind of power.

"Tarrlok is a bloodbender." It was barely more than a whisper. Getting the words out was hard, but it was something Lin had to know. "That's how he kidnapped me." Korra's cup started shaking a bit, and Lin took it from her, placing it down on a small table next to the couch along with her own cup.

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it? Bloodbending is a serious bending form; there have been very few who possess the ability. Only one who was able to do so without a full moon."

Korra just nodded, feeling tears tugging at the edges of her eyes again. She was too tired to be thinking about this anymore. She just wanted to sleep, to stop herself from thinking about what had happened. But sleep just brought her nightmares. She felt trapped, and weak. A thought nudged its way into her brain. "Lin?"

"Yes, Korra?"

"Will you teach me metalbending?" Korra pressed lightly on Naga's nose. The polar bear-dog took the hint and lifted her head from Korra's lap. Korra turned towards Lin, trying to wipe the tears that had started falling down her cheeks.

"I don't know if I'll have the time. And you have your airbender training; I think that's more important than learning metalbending." She resisted the urge to help Korra wipe her tears away, and instead folded her hands in her lap.

"I know, but… I just feel so stupid and helpless. I've been training for what feels like forever, but I just-" She huffed, "I can't even bend a measly puff of air. I just want to do something where I don't fail miserably."

Lin understood that feeling. She had to work on getting her metalbending force back, but she could probably fit in some metalbending lessons. "I'll talk with Tenzin and see if we can work in some lessons in between your airbending training. But I'm not promising anything."

"Thank you!" Without hesitation, Korra wrapped her arms around the older woman. To her surprise, Lin didn't resist. Korra buried her head into Lin's neck, sniffling a bit and trying to end her tears. They were pointless now.

"Alright, now it's time for you to go back to bed." Lin tenderly tugged on Korra's shoulders, trying to break their embrace. Korra reluctantly let go.

Lin started to stand, but Korra grabbed her hand desperately before she could leave, "Wait! Please, don't go." She didn't want to say it, but she was afraid she'd have another nightmare. "Will you stay with me. Just… until I fall asleep?" She paused, letting Lin respond. Lin was silent, and it seemed she wasn't going to say anything, so Korra continued, "Please?"

Lin nodded. "Fine. Just let me bring the teacups to the kitchen. I'll be right back." She picked up the cups from the couchside table and walked to the kitchen. While she emptied them of their tea and washed them, Korra laid back down on the couch and wrapped herself in the blankets.

Lin returned, and sat down next to the couch. Naga curled up next to her and used Lin's lap as a pillow. Lin fought the smile that threatened to break out on her face.

It was silent for a while, and Lin thought maybe Korra had already fallen asleep. Just as she was about to push Naga off her and go to bed, Korra spoke up, "Did Toph ever tell you bedtime stories?"

Lin chuckled at the random question. "All the time. My mother would tell me grandiose tales of all the adventures she'd been on. I think she made most of them up, but they were always entertaining."

"What was your favorite story?" Korra smiled, glad that Lin had answered the question and not just ignored it.

"The story of the Blind Bandit, no doubt." Lin could still remember asking her mother to tell her that story every night. The way her mother told it was so engaging, so heartfelt. It was a little different every time, and it had turned into a sort of game between them. After each telling, Lin would berate her mother with questions, trying to find any plot holes in the story. But she would always answer each question with another fantastic tale that would only bring more questions to the little girl's mind. The war of wills would go on for hours before Toph would finally sigh and tell her that is was time to go to sleep and that they could finish their debate another night.

"Would you tell it to me?"

"I don't think I could tell it as good as her."

"Please? When you're all quiet it feels like you're not there." Korra shifted a little, "You don't have to tell the story, but could you just… talk? About anything?"

Lin sighed. "Alright. I guess I can try." She cleared her throat, and began the story the way her mother always did. "There once lived a little girl. She was born to a great wealthy family, in the arms of comfort and luxury. No one knew it then, but she would grow up to be the greatest earthbender to ever live. She would become one with the earth, and entire mountains would bend to her will. She would grow up to be a strong and powerful woman who commanded others with ease. But in the beginning, no one saw that. All they saw was a poor, defenseless, hopeless little girl who would never be able to do anything on her own. It was this very lack of faith in her that forced that girl to create an alter ego. And thus the Blind Bandit was born."

As she went on with the story, it became more and more scattered. She had forgotten many of the details, and what once where long and detailed battles were worn down to little more than 'and then she defeated her enemies.' She had to pause often to remember what came next, and sometimes she backtracked or changed the story mid-thought. But Korra didn't mind. Hearing Lin's voice next to her gave her the comfort she needed to drift back to sleep. When she finally ended the story with and underwhelming, "the end. I think," both Korra and Naga were fast asleep. She thought about waking the polar bear-dog so she could get up, but she was tired herself and didn't want to disturb the beast, who looked so peaceful in her sleep. Plus, all the motion might wake Korra as well.

With a defeated groan, she leaned back into the couch and let herself fall into a shallow sleep. It wouldn't be very resting, but her sleep rarely was anymore.


End file.
